Britannia
Britannia Britannia is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The Nation consists of two constituent countries: England and Wales. London is the capital of England and Cardiff is the capital of Wales, Welsh and Cornish are recognised as regional minority languages. Britannia is one of the worlds oldest democracies and remains a representative democracy utilising a federal republic as its form of government. 20th Century 1945 - The End of WWII The United Kingdom with the help of the Allies emerged on the winning side of the Second World War. Despite its victory, the UK’s economy had severely weakened during the wartime struggle and left the nation impoverished and in huge debt to the United States. Only through an American loan could the country ensure stability and control over its overseas empire. The rise of the Soviet Union and the U.S saw Britain’s place in the world eclipsed. The continuing economic crisis exposed the UK’s weakened position behind the two growing superpowers. The new spheres of influence encouraged the British government to seek closer ties with the United States both economically and militarily leading to Britain helping America to establish the North Atlantic Defence Council (NADC). The death of Stalin in 1946 relieved many in Britain, fears that the West would be drawn into a war with the East were absolved. British Decolonization Britain saw many of its Imperial subjects seek independence, India, the Jewel of the Empire achieved its freedom which sent shockwaves throughout the UK, this would be a sign of things to come as one by one Britain saw its overseas possessions lost. By 1980, the United Kingdom had lost the majority of its empire, all that remained were small inconsequential islands. The United States, China and Russia sent a joint-ultimatum to both Britain and France to release any of their remaining dependencies, the reaction in London was outrage. Although the loss wouldn’t be big, the notion of being forced to release their territories via a foreign powers demand was considered deeply demeaning. Anglo-U.S relations soured after the ultimatum but gradually were repaired. The Decline of the Monarchy Scandal after scandal rocked the Monarchy and damaged its reputation in the eyes of the public. In 1986, the Labour party leader William Buck revealed during a live-televised interview that he was a Republican and he could see a future for the UK that didn’t have Kings or Queens but only equal men and woman. This interview was considered a turning in British society as the general public for the first time in large numbers really considered a life without a monarch. With support growing for republicanism, William Buck drafted a Republican manifesto pointing out what exactly would be the aims of a Republican Britain. 21st century 2016 British Republic Referendum On the 23rd of June, the Labour government held a national referendum to determine if the United Kingdom would remain a constitutional monarchy or adopt a federal presidential style of government. The referendum was described by many as the most important vote in a lifetime, the voter turnout was the largest in history and surpassed even the Electoral Commission’s highest predictions. The Yes vote won with a majority of 54.87% against a No vote of 45.13%, the result made international headlines and large crowds gathered in London to celebrate the end of the monarchy, Buckingham Palace saw crowds chant and protest outside the gates all night long. The PM addressed the nation the next day stating that the House of Commons would initiate a temporary recess and that the Queen would receive the Prime Minister one finale time to discuss a peaceful transition period. Queen Elizabeth and the PM’s last session was largely a ceremonial affair, the government had already prepared the Queen and her families moving process long beforehand. Once the meeting came to an end, the Prime Minister addressed the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace and officially declared the reign of House Windsor over and that a new nation was about to be born. The following the day the cabinet met to draft a new constitution based on the Republicans previously published manifesto, later that evening outside of 10 Downing street the PM came out and proclaimed the Commonwealth of Britain into existence “I come to you not as a Prime Minister but as a President of a republic!” - Commonwealth of Britain’s Declarations: * The monarchy will be abolished and the constitutional status of the Crown ended; * The Church of England will be disestablished; * The head of state will be a President, elected by a joint sitting of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament; * The functions of the Royal Prerogative would be transferred to Parliament; * The Privy Council would be abolished, and replaced by a Council of State; * The House of Lords would be replaced by an elected House of the People; * England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would have their own devolved National Parliaments with responsibility for devolved matters as agreed; * Country Court judges and magistrates would be elected and the judiciary would be reformed; The Commonwealth enacted a law that members of House Windsor were to leave the country and relocate to a country of their choosing, they would not be allowed to return unless granted a government exemption. The Crown estate’s lands and holdings would revert back to the government and castles and state homes such as Buckingham Palace would be reopened as tourist attractions or museums. British Space Program The British space programme was started in 1952 but had always lacked true government support ever since its inception, early objectives of the programme were to simply launch a series of British satellites into space. This project was successful with the Ariel programme setting Britain down the path of further researching unmanned spacecraft. In 2010, Britain restructured its Space programme to centralise all research departments under one executive agency the UK Space Agency (UKSA). The UKSA’s main research programme after its founding was to design and launch the first single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane known as the “Skylon”. The design would utilise an air-breathing rocket propulsion system allowing it to enter into orbit and carry cargo to the International Space Station. Its light-frame comprising of ceramic composite plating would allow the spacecraft to then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land on a runway allowing it to serve as a reusable space vehicle. The Skylon was completed in 2025 and launched successfully into space. In 2032, France founded the European Space Commission (ESC) which the Commonwealth with several other nations joined. The Commonwealth later left the organisation after parting ways with the EC and refocused on its own space agency and further cooperation with the British Commonwealth Nations. 2041 - Treaty of Verdun Refusal The EU’s decision to intervene and resolve the raging civil war in Czechoslovakia was initially supported by the British Conservative government but once it became clear the European powers wanted to use the crisis to further push the agenda of more centralization in the Union it triggered the already Eurosceptic cabinet to panic. Fears that the European project was really an underhanded ploy to create a European superstate resurfaced and fueled British tabloids and heated debates in Parliament. The sitting Conservative government was divided between Europhiles and Eurosceptics both demanding the cabinet go in different ways. The Prime Minister, George Hughes hoped the situation would resolve itself on the European end but much to his chagrin the EU drafted the Treaty of Verdun which called for closer more centralised economic integration. With his party in uproar and general public growing more hostile to the EU, the PM chose to distance Britain from Europe and revealed they would not sign the treaty nor could they voluntarily remain in a Union headed towards consolidation. Britain’s triggering of article 51 caused outrage in Scotland and Northern Ireland who were quick to label it as the actions of an out of touch English government that only cared about itself and not the other countries it was united with. 2041 - 2049 Commonwealth disintegration The following years were a turbulent time for British politics, the Scottish and Irish parliaments became focused on igniting Independence movements and overall distancing themselves from Westminster rule. On 16th of April 2047, the British government after receiving years of intense campaigning granted a referendum to Scotland to finally settle the question of Scottish Independence. The leave vote won a narrow majority letting Scotland declare its independence and become once more a sovereign state, the historic Union of Crowns had finally come to an end. The Sinn Féin Party of Northern Ireland motivated by the Scottish vote and preceding fallout pressured the British government for a referendum on Irish Unification, the Republic of Ireland also saw the opportunity and publicly declared its support for a democratic vote on the Issue. Westminster fearing the dissolution of the entire Commonwealth refused and tried to prevent further debate for the next few years. By 2049, the Northern Irish Parliament was completely dominated by Unification nationalists and started seeking international help to pressure Westminster. The refusal to hold a democratic referendum drew much criticism especially considering Britain had only held another referendum just a few years earlier. In the end, the Commonwealth government relented and granted a Referendum to the Irish. On the 18th of May 2049, Northern Ireland held a Referendum on whether to Reunite with the Republic of Ireland. Surprising none, the Irish voted overwhelmingly to join the Republic. This result reduced the Commonwealth of Britain to just England and Wales. The final question of Welsh independence was brought up but ultimately never truly gained momentum given the countries reliance on England as its partner. Once the hardships of the Second Great Depression were felt, it firmly put to bed the possibility of Welsh independence as a united England and Wales economy would stem better than an isolated Welsh economy. 2053 - The London Pact During 2050, a severe economic depression now known as the Second Great Depression struck the world markets causing devastating effects worldwide, the English economy already shrinking beforehand as a result of losing Scotland and Northern Ireland was hit considerably. Scotland, an emerging country with a hopeful economy had its ambitions dashed, the country had hoped to join the European Commonwealth but had not yet finalised its entry. With the crash in effect and the EC in freefall, there was little chance of Scotland now succeeding. The Republic of Ireland was already the trailing economy of the British Isles even with a brief spike as a result of the Irish unification, the country had been stagnating, now it was in financial collapse. In 2053, as a result of desperation, Scotland, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Britain agreed to form a trilateral economic union to alleviate their dire situation. The head of states from each country met in London to sign the agreement. (The London Pact) In 2056, the countries met again to sign a new proposal for the Pact, the formation of a new military and defence alliance to counterweight the EC’s Treaty of Frankfurt military alliance. All countries unanimously signed. In 2059, the Commonwealth of Britain changed its countries name to Britannia to represent the current union of just Wales and England and to distance themselves from the similarly named European Commonwealth. 22nd Century By 2120, Britannia’s economy has rebounded and once more become the largest in the British Isles, the London Pact still stands firm and serves as the rock holding the island countries together. Nationalistic views continue to grow at the fringes of politics, the incumbent President, Mason Tackels leads the centuries-old Conservative Party which occupies a bland, centrist position and has been unable to satisfy the rising extreme right and left-wing political movements which have grown in this fragmented, polarised Britain. Libertarian politician Cassandra Morgan’s brand of big-tent, catch-all populism incorporating elements of order and stability as well as of liberty and equality is increasingly popular. One thing most Englishmen can agree on is that Mason Tackels must go. The 2120 election will decide his fate, as well as that of the London Pact and Britannia.